~ architect designer visionary

Art is not a thing; it is a way….a wonderful morning with Rafa Forteza

I would like to start with Claude Monet`s words: “Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.”

After seeing an artwork of Rafa Forteza, a well known Spanish artist, I had it more than clear, that I “need” to see more of his art and to meet him. An artist who has definitely a similar color obsession. Spontaneous and brave, I called him and asked him, if he please invites me into his studio …. maybe not the most common way of getting invited, but at least a way, to get there 🙂 Rafa Forteza – a “freethinker”, a unconventional person and a nonconformist – far away from “snatching fame” and far away from publicity and marketing actions, welcomed me in his studio in such a open hearted way, that I felt immediately familiar and”at home” with his special world and his colourful sphere. It was, like escaping from reality, without being sure, which of both is reality. As soon, as I get closer to art, my heart starts to beat and my subconscious gives me clear signs, that art is part of my life and that I need this spirit & inspiration, like I need air to breath! As Friedrich Schiller says: “Art is the daughter of freedom.”

Thank you Rafa, for that wonderful morning in your studio!

Looking at contemporary Spanish art, one cannot fail to discover the majorcan artist Rafa Forteza (born 1955). His diverse oeuvre includes painting and sculpture. His graphic work, which was in part realized in the workshops of Joan Miro and Tristan Barbara, enjoys an international standing. In an expressive style, Forteza creates a haunting world of images that alternates between abstraction and figuration, between reality and concept, and that speculates and manifests.